Trees, Between Nature and Culture Naturopano

naturopaNo. 96 / 2001 • ENGLISH Trees, between nature and culture naturopaNo. 96 – 2001 Editorial B. Rugaas ............................................................................3 Chief Editor José-Maria Ballester Director of Culture and Cultural Forests, a natural heritage and Natural Heritage Trees in Europe, past and present V. Demoulin ....................................4 Director of publication Maguelonne Déjeant-Pons Are Europe’s forests in danger? K. Prins ................................................6 Head of the Regional Planning Co-operation for the benefit of European forests and Technical Co-operation MCPFE and Environment for Europe and Assistance Division P. Mayer and C. Wildburger ....................................................................8 Concept and editing Marie-Françoise Glatz Forests full of life WWF ............................................................................10 E-mail: [email protected] The European Diploma and forests F. Bauer ........................................12 Layout An example outside Europe Emmanuel Georges Trees and the law in Brazil P. A. Leme Machado ................................13 Printer Bietlot – Gilly (Belgium) Man and wood Articles may be freely reprinted provided that reference is made to the source and The relationship between the human race and wood F. Calame ..........14 a copy sent to the Centre Naturopa. The Countless things can be made with wood! P. Glatz ................................15 copyright of all illustrations is reserved. The tree, the house and the landscape R. Ambroise ............................16 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not Klingenthal colloquy: forests and trees J-P. Ribaut ..............................17 necessarily reflect the views of the Council of Europe. Bruno Manser’s struggle: Bruno Manser Foundation ........................17 Since 1993 Naturopa has been printed on chlorine-free paper. Viewpoints © Cover, Background: Radruz Church, The music of the forest ..............................................................................18 Poland, T. Budzin´ski Vignette 1: Mountain ash, J-J.Alcalay/Bios Vignette 2: Beech logs, J-L. Klein Wooden architecture in Europe & M-L. Hubert Typology of wooden constructions in Europe S. Mentu ........................20 Vignette 3: Half-timbered house, ecomuseum of Alsace, Protection of wooden architecture in central and eastern Europe J-L. Klein & M-L. Hubert J. Bach Rasmussen ..................................................................................22 Below: Wild cherry in bloom, J-L. Klein & M-L. Hubert Restoration of wooden churches in Poland Background p. 18-19: J-L. Klein Why and for whom? D. Maczynski ........................................................23 & M-L. Hubert Domestic wooden houses of Turkey C. Hersek ......................................24 Wooden heritage in towns of Latvia P. Blums........................................25 The “Europe, a common heritage” campaign Wooden culture throughout Europe A transnational project of the campaign N. Sanz....................................26 European co-operation: Finland, France, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Turkey S. Mentu, F. Calame, D. Puodzivkiene, K. Chmielewski, G. Andersson and C. Hersek ....................................27 The social and professional role of wood craftsmen G. Andersson ............................................................................................29 Romania – a land of living wood A. Barca ............................................30 Heritage issues at the Council of Europe .......... 30 The culture of wood J-M. Ballester ........................................................32 Bern Convention action to promote biological diversity of forests E. Fernandez Galiano ..............................................................................32 Towards a plant conservation strategy J. Smart ....................................33 The Centre Naturopa’s national agencies .......... 34 Editorial Trees, between nature and culture C There was a time when forests covered most of Europe. Since the Neolithic period humans have struggled to open up forests for their cultures and livestock, little by little gaining living space for themselves. This was a long and weary battle, won with the help of fire, the plough and the unceasing teeth and hoof of farm animals. The remaining patches of woodland in Europe have not only a great heritage value, but also a symbolic one. The forest is a representation of wilderness, of untamed nature with its unpredictable forces and its mystery. European forests are not purely a mythical space, but also a physical reality, a large part of our territory where the natural aspects of land dominate the man-made ones, where the wood production to meet our needs is compatible with the preservation of a great part of the biological diversity of our continent. They form the green heart of Europe. Even if most of our present forests are largely managed and not comparable with the old natural forests that once covered Europe, they are still the habitat of many species. Forest species contribute to about one-third of the biological diversity of Europe, as forest ecosystems represent the highest level of ecological structures, being complex and diverse in ecological function and form. They have a great heritage value, as areas for human recreation, as landscapes, as providers of ecological services (clean water, prevention of erosion, carbon traps to combat climate change, etc.) and as privileged stages of spiritual contentment. Forests have also been exploited for timber and other products – mushrooms, firewood, gathering of berries and nuts, game – for a very long time. The wide variety of wood from the different tree species has been used in many forms, for buildings, furniture, tools, arms, fencing. A superb wooden heritage has been created over the centuries in Europe, exploiting the beauty, suppleness or strength of wood. Wooden heritage reckons its years in centuries. Few materials can lay the same claim to versatility as wood. This historically sustainable material, while at the same time flexible in all its applications, has adapted itself since prehistoric times to a variety of monumental, creative and functional expressions throughout our Europe. The technical and cultural differences in its use have benefited from the capacity of wood to be transformed combined with its resistance to the erosion of time. Surviving for centuries in spite of irreversible decay, wooden heritage was made one of the key areas of reflection during the “Europe, a common heritage” campaign. This issue of Naturopa takes full advantage of the Council of Europe experience in the environmental field: biological diversity, landscape and spatial planning, together with the successful transnational project entitled “Wooden culture throughout Europe”. Experts, national committees and associations have together skilfully shaped the philosophy and knowledge at the basis of this project in a spirit of European co-operation. Although not denying the functional aspect of wood as a material, all the work presented here conveys some of the poetry implicit in its selection and in its symbolic meaning to those who shape it, decorate it, build with it or simply enjoy the fruits of the work of the virtuoso makers: from forest specialists to skilled artisans of musical instruments. We are dealing with a heritage that corresponds to the craftsmanship of construction, the sociability of various forms of culture and respect for the landscape. No doubt these contributions will establish the basis and arguments for a reflection serving to implement the European Landscape Convention, opened for signature by member states in Florence on 20 October 2000. The wooden heritage constitutes an asset whose artistic and cultural values exceed the age of creators and curators. European wooden heritage is a living heritage supporting one of the most threatened forms of cultural expression and preservation. Bendik Rugaas Director of Culture, Education, Youth and Sport Council of Europe o naturopa n 96 / 2001 3 Forests, a natural her J-L. Klein & M-L. Hubert Trees in Europe, past and present The presence, or absence, of the Currently, the only place where this accompanied by bushes which are main types of forest depends on a type of forest is found in any great also adapted to drought and which, number of fairly clear but constantly quantity is America’s Pacific coast. when conditions become too harsh changing climatic factors. As a result Here we find pines, firs and spruces for trees, particularly as a result of of the combination of these climate but also species which do not cur- human activity (repeated felling, for- changes and human activities, the vegetation that we see around us today is quite different from what it was in the (geologically speaking) very recent past. The main types of European forest In 1968, the German phyto-geogra- pher, Jäger, showed that the potential range of the deciduous forest char- acteristic of much of Europe could be defined by the following parameters: more than 120 frost-free days, pre- cipitation over 500 mm, average Jan- uary temperature below 4°C and average July temperature above 15°C. A similar surface area is occupied by the same type of forest in eastern Asia and eastern North America and, although it is far from being the most widespread form of vegetation in the Potential zone of deciduous forest

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